Liddy's POV
Nothing like a warm shower, clean clothes and a little makeup to lighten my mood. I know Hunter didn't mean to hurt my feelings. I'm just sensitive. In my mind we are already a couple so I think of us tackling any problem together. Obviously he doesn't feel that way right now, but hopefully in time he will.
When my phone rings, I smile. It's my parents.
"Merry Christmas" I say as I answer their call.
"Merry Christmas to you!" My family says. I can tell they have me on speaker phone.
"Was Santa good to you?" I giggle.
"Yes, he was!" I hear Jan say. "Thank you so much for the gorgeous sweater and silk scarf you gave me. I love it!"
"You are very welcome. Happy you like it."
"Thanks for the leather gloves and the tie with antique cars on it. Very original." My dad says.
I smile. "I knew you would like it. Not something you would wear everyday, but definitely a conversation starter."
"That it is!" I hear my half brother Linc call from the background. I just laugh.
"I'll make sure to get you one, Linc, next Christmas."
"Awe, thanks sis."
"So how did Hunter like his gift?" My dad inquires.
"I'm not sure. Harper's been running a fever so I haven't had a chance to give it to him, yet. But I'm pretty sure he'll love it. I'll text you after he opens it and let you know what he says."
We continue to chat for a few more minutes until I hear my sister in law speak in the back ground. "Well, honey, looks like Susan has brunch ready for us. So we need to go. Merry Christmas. Love you." My dad says.
"Okay, wish Sue Merry Christmas for me and thank you for my gifts, I am sure I will love them. I just haven't opened them yet." I giggle.
"No worries." Jan says. "We understand about sick babies. So when does Hunter go back on the road?"
"Not till January 3rd. Why?"
"I was just wondering if you had time to come visit us? We would love to see you. Your dad and I head back to Virginia tomorrow. So if you feel like being spontaneous let us know. Well, gotta run. Love you, talk to you soon."
"Love you, too. Bye" I say as I hang up the phone and smile. I love my family.
When I hear my stomach grumble I decide to make oatmeal with pecans, cranberries and brown sugar plus some bacon on the side. I also opt to make myself hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream and peppermint sprinkles on the top. It's a Dean's family tradition that I had hoped to share with Harper and Hunter.
As I am rinsing off my plate to put it in the dishwasher, I hear a knock on my door. Since the noise is coming from the door that connects to Hunter's house, I know it's him and I smile.
When I open the door I find a freshly showered Hunter in a pair of tight dark wash jeans, a maroon Henley shirt with all 3 buttons undone, a five o'clock shadow on his face and a beautifully wrapped gift in his hand. I almost melt right there on the spot. He is so handsome.
"Hey, can I come in?" He asks with a sheepish smile.
"Sure. Where's Harper?"
"She's still sleeping. I didn't have the heart to wake her." He says as he steps inside my apartment. "Would you mind leaving the door open so we can hear her if she makes a noise?"
"Of course, I don't mind." I smile. "So did Renee finally call?"
"Yes, she did." I can tell from the relief on his face he has good news to share. "She agreed to let us keep Harper until her fever is gone. But she did want to see her so she will be coming over later."
"Well, that's awesome. I told you everything would work out."
"Yes, you did." He says as he flashes me that sexy smirk that makes my heart race and my knees get weak. "Hey, what a beautiful Christmas tree!"
"Thanks."
"So I was planning to give you this later tonight, but since Renee and my parents will be dropping by, I decided to give it to you now." He says as he offers me the gorgeous gift.
I smile and accept it. "Hunter, you didn't need to get me anything." I say as I walk over to sit on the couch.
"I told you before. I wanted to get you something. It's not much." He says as he sits next to me on the couch.
As I begin to unwrap my present, I note my hand is shaking. I hope he doesn't notice. Once I remove the ribbon and the pretty paper I find a box. When I open it I find a CD inside and a card. When I open the card I immediately recognize Hunter's "unique" hand writing..
Liddy
I remember you saying once, if you could hear me sing Hearts and Rockets to Harper everyday you would be the happiest person in the world. Well, since your happiness means the world to me, I decided to give you your very own version of that song. It's different than the original slightly, because I wanted it to be unique, just like you.
I hope when you listen to it you will always think of Harper and I.
Merry Christmas
Love
Hunter and Harper
By the time I finish reading the letter, I am crying. "Hunter, I can't believe you remember I said that." I say as I wipe away my tears.
"I try to remember everything you tell me." Then he smiles. "The CD actually has the song on there 3 different times. The first one is your version. I haven't shared it with any one else. You will be the first to hear it. I changed the music up slightly, that's all. I left the lyrics the same. I hope you like it."
"I know I'm going to love it! I can't wait to listen to it!"
"The second one is the original version and you can tell because my voice is much younger sounding than it is now and the third version is the song just the way I sing it to Harper. I actually, recorded it one night when I was singing directly to her. You can hear her in the background if you listen closely. I left it in because I figured you might like it."
I am so touched by his gift I can't stop crying. "No one has ever given me something so sweet!" Without thinking I lean over and give him a quick kiss. When I look at him after he seems as shocked as me. I blush then get up and run over to play my new CD.
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Hunter's POV
I'm still smiling from the kiss Liddy gave me. I was shocked and so was she. But all it proves to me, is that we are getting closer, to the point where we can admit our true feelings. I'm crazy in love with her and the more time I spend with her the more convinced I am that she feels the same way.
The fact that Liddy likes the gift I made her makes me very happy. I was surprised by how excited she was to play it. She's actually listening to it now, while I'm here checking on Harper. It's really, just an excuse. The real reason I left Liddy's is because I get uncomfortable listening to my own voice.
As I expected Harps is still sleeping, curled up in the middle on my bed. I walk over and place my wrist on her forehead checking to see if her fever has spiked. She feels a little warm, but not nearly as bad as last night. Hopefully, she will start feeling better soon.
When I hear a knock on my door, I look up and see Liddy standing there with a large smile on her face. God, she is beautiful. "All done listening to the CD?"
"I'll never be done listening to it. I love it so much! Thank you."
I blush. "You're welcome."
"So I got something for you too and it's kind of big. Would you mind coming back to my place to open it?" She asks.
"Ah sure, but you know you didn't need to get me anything."
She laughs. "Didn't I just say that to you a few minutes ago?"
"Okay, point made."
As we're walking down the hall she pauses for a second. "Is Harper okay? I didn't even check?"
"She's fine. I actually think she might be getting a bit better. So, I was hoping after I open my gift, that I could wake her up and try to get her to eat something. Would you like to keep us company?"
Her face lights up. "I would love to!"
When we enter her apartment I notice two large gifts leaning against the living room wall. They weren't there earlier so I am assuming they are my present.
"Here you go." She says as she picks up one of the wrapped gifts and hands it to me. "Feel free to sit down if you like."
I take my present and walk over to the couch. I'm totally stumped as to what it could be. "Well, I know it's not a watch. It's a little too big."
"No, it's definitely not a watch." She laughs. "I guess you'll need to open it up to find out."
I can tell she's excited for me to unwrap it, so I carefully run my finger under the seam and rip the paper away. What I see is a gorgeous matted print of a blue Shelby Cobra. My dream car! It's framed in black leather. I am speechless. "Liddy, this is amazing!"
"I know how much you love antique cars so my dad and I have been looking for prints or posters that I could have framed for you." She walks over to get the other gift. "I hope you like this one as well?"
"I'm sure I will!" I say, as I peel away the paper to discover a photo of a 64 Shelby Cobra, dark silver with the classic black stripe. "Oh My God! How did you manage to find prints of both these cars? They're the colors I love!"
"Believe me it wasn't easy. My dad and I looked everywhere. Finding a nice print of the blue Shelby with white stripes wasn't too difficult. Whereas the silver one with the black stripes posed more of a challenge. But thankfully, we managed to find two photos that I liked.
"Wow, I love them! But I can't believe you and your dad went to all that trouble!" I say as I stand up and give her a hug.
She hugs me back. "No more trouble than you went through to make mine."
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I usually don't like to post a chapter unless I have 4 more already written, but you guys wanted to know what they gave each other, so here it is. I just pray I can find some more time to write. Also there is one more gift to be given by one of them, but that's not till the next chapter. Sorry, you'll need to wait on that one. :)
So they gave each other their gifts. What did you think? Did any of you guess correctly?
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